Christmas Tales from Hogwarts
by prplemyth
Summary: Just a bunch of reasonably fluffy Christmas one shots! Read, review, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a bunch of random Christmas one shots I thought up, all compiled together! Yay me! Oh and if you don't know what "awkward turtle" is, it's when you put one hand over the other and wiggle your thumbs. It looks really dumb but it's highly amusing.**

**Just a warning, this is exceptionally fluffy, so if you're all for angst, you may not want to read.**

**Anyway, on with the story!**

"All prefects must decorate the halls for Christmastime, no ifs, ands, or buts, you hear me?" said Professor Flitwick in a jolly manner. Oh, I heard him all right! Christmas was so soon, and this was my first year as a prefect!

I think my excited-ness showed on my face, because my best friend, Ron Weasley, leaned over and whispered, "Well, someone's excited."

Now why did I get chills up and down my spine? That is NOT supposed to happen, he is my best friend. Well, he and Harry are. But it's just friends. It must be cold in here, it's winter anyway. I let out a shiver as Flitwick finished.

Ron looked at me as everyone else was leaving. "Are you cold? Do you need a sweater?" He pulled off his own and handed it to me.  
Staring at it will probably not do anything, huh…

"Hermione, do you need it? Cuz I'm gonna look like a moron if I just sit here."

I shook my self out of my little daze. "No, no, I'm perfectly fine. Just fine."

Damn him and his blue eyes. Note to self: eye contact is not a good idea.

"You're shivering. Here. Take it."

"Okay, Ron." I smiled slightly as I looked at the yellow Chudley Cannons sweatshirt, then put it over my head.

"OW!"

Ron's head whipped around as he back tracked the two steps he'd taken. "What did you do this time?"

"I think I - OW! - I think I caught my hair in my - OW! - earring."

"Hold on, I'll get it. It's hooked in the back."

He reached behind my ear, his hands grazing the back of my neck, sending minimal shivers down my spine. Again.

"You really are cold. Don't worry, in a few minutes that sweatshirt will warm you right up."

Yes, it really is cold. I am cold. That's it.

He continued to unhook my hair from my earring.

"There. It's fixed."

I smiled up at him. Jeez, he's tall. How'd he get so tall?

I shook myself from this random moment of distraction and rolled up the sleeves of the huge but cozy sweatshirt.

"Time to decorate the tree!" I said happily as I walked over to the ladder. The tree was about 12 or 13 feet high, and loomed over our heads. This was probably not the best time to mention that I was afraid of heights.

"I…I'll decorate the bottom, shall I?" Ron chuckled and nodded.

The two of us kept bumping into each other as I told him he was putting the ornaments on wrong.

"No, no, Ron, you can't put two on the same branch! It won't work! And you have to evenly space them until we know how many we have, we can't have all of them on the front and only about two on the back!" I grabbed his hand to prevent him from putting the bulb on and he flipped his so he was…

AHHHHHH HE'S HOLDING MY HAND. AWKWARD TURTLE TIME!

I looked up with a funny little smile - I probably looked some form of sadistic - and he blushed and let go.

And I ruined the moment by doing the awkward turtle.

"What are you doing, Hermione?"

"Uh…Thumb exercises!"

He stared at me. "Er, okay?"

The two of us continued putting the ornaments on, and I was pleased to see he was following my advice.

"Hermione, we need someone to go on the top of the ladder."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like that'll happen."

"You're the smallest of us."

"N-no I'm not. Pansy and Hannah are smaller."

"Wrong. You're smaller."

"I'm not short!" Ron laughed.

"Of course you're not."

"I'm not! I'm just petite. Small boned. Fun sized!" He laughed again.

"Okay, Mione. Just get up on the ladder. Here, I'll stand at the bottom so you won't fall." He grabbed the ladder and held it still. "You'll be fine. If you do fall, I'll catch you, okay?"

I stepped on the ladder carefully so I wouldn't fall and crack my head open. One step, two steps, three steps, four steps…On and on until I was at the very top, holding a star.

"Ron, it feels really wobbly up here…"

"You'll be fine, just don't look down."

"O-okay."

I placed the pretty star up on the tree and looked at it. It changed colors at will, blues and purples and reds and yellows and greens, all switching as it felt. It also smelled like Christmas up there, like pine and cinnamon in a perfect combination.

"Ron, it looks beautiful! I did it!"

"Good job, Mione. I'm very proud." I looked down to smile at him.

Big mistake.

"R-Ron I c-can't get b-back down. I just c-can't. It's too h-high!" Yes, I know, me, Hermione Granger, getting irrational and scared. Doesn't seem right, does it?

"Mione, you can do it. I'm right here if you need catching. You'll be okay. I promise."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

I began to ease myself down the ladder, counting down as I went down the steps. 15 steps, 14 steps, 13 steps, on until I got to 9. My footing slipped.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed.

Instead of feeling the hard ground and feeling my head smack into the ground, I landed on something soft and comforting. Ron actually had caught me. Sure, he was staggering, but what else was he supposed to do after that high of a fall?

"That was so scary…" He sat me down on the ground and let go of me. I wished he hadn't.

"Hermione, are you okay?"

"I - I don't know. I think so."

"Come here…" And he wrapped me in a hug, and I felt like I could never be hurt, like I was safe forever right there.

Best.

Christmas.

Ever.

NO NO NO! What in the world am I TALKING about? Best friends, friends, nothing more.

Or is there?


	2. Five Happy Christmases

_A/N: Well this was a hiatus if I ever saw one. It's Christmas again, and I decided to write a little something for it._

_This was an idea that I came up with right after I had finished the first chapter, and I thought it might be fun to write it now._

_Oh, and I re-read the one I wrote like three years ago – oof. Can I just apologize for that? Silly little sophomore me was kind of a buffoon._

_Not like it's changed, but at least I can acknowledge it now._

_Enjoy the Very Potter Sequel reference._

Luna Lovegood was the personification of awkward and strange and abnormal.

But that didn't make her a bad person. On the contrary, one would consider to be quite the good person.

She never received much attention from many friends, just Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom. Neville, however, was hard for Luna to be friends with, because she could never figure out if the butterflies in her stomach when she saw him were from the Grumbling Tumrumblers or were from feelings she just didn't quite understand yet.

In her fifth year of Hogwarts, Luna stared down at the wish list Ginny had thrust in front of her. Luna, however did not understand the purpose.

Her father and mother had not encouraged Santa Claus – it was positively absurd, a man flying that quickly across the sky, they thought, and it led to Luna being crossed off many lists of who to invite to Christmas parties.

Christmas wish lists were never what she had done. Her mother and father celebrated the solstice, not Christmas, in particular. They would stand out in the window, arm in arm, in the most warm and comfortable pajamas they could find, and would watch the sun come up on the morning of December 21st, and would stay awake until the sun went down. They did the same for the equinoxes and the solstices – experiencing the day for nature, not a holiday.

Since her mother's death, they rarely had the same feelings when they would celebrate the solstice. Luna remembered the year before, when she and her father just watched the sun rise, and quietly talked about her mother's favorite things.

Luna never exactly celebrated Christmas.

Which is why Luna didn't understand what Ginny meant by, "Fill out all of the things you want for Christmas, or I will Bat-Bogey you to Pigfarts and back."

Luna knew about Pigfarts. But it was on Mars. Ginny couldn't just bat-bogey her there.

"I don't understand," said Luna, looking up at Ginny, whose arms were folded in quite the aggressive manner. Luna didn't quite understand why Ginny was always so forceful – that's just another thing on the list of things Luna didn't understand about the Weasleys.

She surmised it had something to do with having many older brothers.

Luna was always sad that she didn't have siblings.

"You just write down what you want for Christmas!" said Ginny with a smile, "Here, you can borrow my quill."

"I don't want much," said Luna, shrugging her shoulders. She pushed some of the long, dirty blonde hair away from her face, "Just friends."

Ginny's face dropped a little bit. "Luna, you have friends!" said Ginny, pulling up a seat to sit next to her, "You have me, and Neville, and all of the people in the DA!"

"They haven't much spoken to me in a while," said Luna, "I fear they've lost interest in me."

Ginny smiled, a comforting look, "No one could ever lose interest in you, Luna. You always have something to say."

Luna smiled, "I suppose what I want is just five people to wish me a happy Christmas."

Ginny, once again, looked a little surprised, "Why, of course five people will wish you a happy Christmas, Luna. It's what people do this time of year."

Luna shook her head. "Not to me," said Luna, "I don't usually get wished anything."

"But what about last year, in the DA?"

"Last year no one exactly said it to me – however people were a lot nicer to me in those days. It was pleasant. Now it seems as if I am either invisible or being mocked," Luna smiled at Ginny's look of anger, "No, there's nothing to be angry about, it's the price you pay for being yourself."

Ginny folded her arms. "It shouldn't be," said Ginny, "You should be allowed to be Luna Lovegood as much as you want – and no one should think they have the right to make you invisible or make fun of you. We are getting you those five happy Christmases, if it's the last thing we do."

The morning one day before the school would leave for Christmas break, Luna awoke to see little Dobby the house elf standing at the foot of her bed.

"Why, hello, Dobby," said Luna as she yawned, "How are you today?"

"Dobby is lovely, Miss Lovegood," said the little elf, "Ginny Weasley ordered Dobby to come find Miss Lovegood to take her to – actually, Dobby cannot say," the small elf smile sheepishly, "Dobby thinks it is a surprise, Miss."

Luna lit up. "A surprise?"

"Yes, this is what Dobby said, Miss."

Luna stood up and brushed her long blonde hair out of her face, trying to keep it from blocking her vision. She chose a simple blue shirt and blue jeans and dressed quickly. Dobby held out his small hand. "Come, Miss Lovegood, to your surprise!"

They didn't have to go far. Dobby led Luna right outside the Ravenclaw common rooms, where stood the smiling face of Ginny Weasley.

"Surprise!" said Ginny, holding her arms out to embrace Luna, "Happy early Christmas!"

Luna hugged her friend, "You know," said Luna, "Yours doesn't exactly count."

Ginny placed her hand over her heart, "Oh, that hurts!" said Ginny dramatically.

"No," said Luna, "I just mean that you knew what I wanted, you knew the five happy Christmas greetings."

Ginny nodded. "I suppose. But I have a real gift for you – I hope you'll like it."

"My gift for you is in my room, Ginny, I can go get it for you now –"

Ginny laughed, "Luna, I don't need a Christmas gift, I get far too many from my wacky family. I want to give you one. Because it's…Well, it's so you I couldn't have resisted."

Ginny pulled out from her back pocket a small box. Luna opened it, and inside lay a delicate ring – a word was written in cursive, woven together to complete the circle. _Believe._

"Oh," breathed Luna, "Oh, Ginny, it's beautiful."

Ginny smiled at her friend, "I hoped you would think so. It made me think of you."

Luna immediately slipped the small ring on. "How does it look?"

Luna and Ginny studied her hand for a moment, and both said at the same time, "Perfect."

The two strode down the hallway, smiling and chatting.

"Now," said Ginny, "Let's get you those –"

"Luna! Ginny!" said Hermione Granger, walking down the hall with a gigantic stack of books, "How are you? Are you going home for the holidays tomorrow?" Luna nodded. "Well then," said Hermione with a big smile as she shifted the books in her arms, "I hope to see you again before I leave, but if I miss you, have a very happy Christmas! And I'll see you, Ginny, at the Weasleys."

Luna smiled, "Happy Christmas to you too, Hermione."

The brown haired girl walked off in the direction of the library, and Ginny laughed. "Probably returning the whole How To Be A Nerd section."

"They have that section in the library?" asked Luna.

Ginny looked at her for a moment, blankly, then blinked. "Um, nevermind. But there was your first happy Christmas! How did it feel?"

Luna smiled, "Lovely. Hermione is a very nice girl."

Ginny nodded. "Where to next, milady?" asked Ginny, pretending to bow.

"Can we go to the great hall?" asked Luna, "I'm a little bit hungry."

Ginny laughed, "Of course. You're lucky it's a Saturday, you know, otherwise I would have had to ditch you for Charms class by now."

The two started towards the great hall, but were again intercepted by a friend. "Hey, ladies," said Dean Thomas, swooping in and planting a kiss on Ginny's blushing cheek, "Happy Christmas to you, Ginny. And happy Christmas to you, Luna. Shall we go to breakfast now?"

Luna and Ginny exchanged a quick look, and Ginny happily mouthed, "two," at Luna, who nodded.

The three of them walked over to the Gryffindor table, where Luna sat for the first time.

The chatter at the table was a little mindless, and the main discussion was about what everyone was going to do over Christmas break. Luna wasn't in the mood exactly to participate, but she listened intently and was surprised to hear that Seamus was going to America over the break to see the Statue of Liberty.

"I've heard that the Statue of Liberty is a robot with the intent to protect the United States from You-Know-Who's attack. It was really given to the United States by the Parisian Ministry."

All eyes went to Luna. "It's true."

Seamus smiled, "Well, if it is, I'll keep a look out. What are you doing for the holidays, Luna?"

Luna for a moment was surprised. All eyes were on her – she was not invisible for once.

"I'm just joining my dad at home for a little relaxation. It will be nice, you know. Getting away from all the drama. We keep to ourselves quite a bit."

The rest of the table nodded. The chatter went on until Dean, Seamus and Parvati stood up to leave. "Have a happy Christmas, Luna. You two, Gin," said Seamus, waving goodbye.

When the three of them left, Ginny nudged Luna in the arm, "See?" said Ginny with a smile, "Three of them and we aren't even finished with breakfast yet!"

"I suppose you're right. This is indeed quite the happy Christmas!"

The two girls rose from the table, only to see Hagrid entering from the doorway carrying a gigantic pine.

"Ello, girls!" he said.

"Hello, Hagrid."

"Hi!"

"What're yeh two up to today? Gettin' ready fer Christmas break?"

The two girls nodded. Luna held up her hand. "Ginny gave me this really pretty ring."

"Oh, it's lovely," Hagrid winked at Ginny, "This one's got a knack fer pickin' out gifts that match the recipient. Happy Christmas ter you two girls, an' stay warm! It's going ter be a cold one."

When Hagrid had left, Luna asked, "Did you get Hagrid something that matches him too?"

Ginny nodded, "I may or may not have picked up an encyclopedia of magical creatures that he found fascinating. I am not sure but I think he cracked a rib or two when he hugged me."

The two found a spot in the library to sit and talk quietly. It was only ten in the morning, and Luna had already received four of her five Christmas wishes.

"So," said Ginny, "Is there anyone in particular that you would want to give you your final happy Christmas?"

Luna had one person in mind – Neville – but she was not going to admit that to Ginny. Instead, she shrugged, "Not really. Just someone nice, or genuine, I suppose."

As if on cue, Draco Malfoy waltzed into the library. "Ugh. A weasel and a lunatic," he said, "taking up my space."

"Go boil your head, Malfoy," said Ginny, rolling her eyes.

"You shouldn't be speaking in that way to me, Weasley," said Malfoy.

"You aren't a very nice person, Draco," said Luna, "Is that because your dad wasn't very nice to you when you were little?"

Malfoy's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"Well," said Luna, standing, "I hope you have a happy Christmas, even though your dad is in jail and follows a lunatic. Everyone deserves a lovely holiday. Come on, Ginny." Luna wove her arm through Ginny's and walked out of the library, leaving Malfoy dumbfounded.

"Luna…" asked Ginny, staring at her friend in both shock and awe, "What did you just do?"

"I realized that, if I wasn't getting any happy Christmases, he probably isn't either. And with a father that horrid, I'm sure he wouldn't be getting any at home."

Ginny continued to look at Luna in the same shocked way.

"You're not only interesting, Luna," said Ginny, hugging her friend, "You're also the nicest person in this school."

After the encounter with Malfoy, Ginny regrettably informed Luna that she had to return to Gryffindor to pack her bags, and Luna had gone back to her own common room in Ravenclaw to read a book. Forty pages into "The Once and Future King," Luna realized she, like Hermione, had a few books she had been meaning to return to the library.

She gathered the books – all five of them – and haphazardly began to carry them down the many stairs to get to the library. Right before the last staircase, she lost her balance, and the books began to tumble out of her arms.

Someone came up in front of her and stabilized the books. "Oh," she said, "Thank you, very much."

"No problem," came the voice of Neville Longbottom, his round and smiling face appearing on the side of the books. "You looked like your books were about to take a spill, let me take a few so it's easier."

"Thank you," Luna said.

The two walked in a comfortable silence to the library, where Luna dropped her books off. She expected him to turn in the other direction to go to Gryffindor tower when they reached the end of the hallway, but he continued to walk right beside her.

"Where are you headed?" Luna asked.

Neville turned a light shade of pink as he said, "I was hoping I could walk you back to Ravenclaw. If it's alright with you, that is."

Luna smiled and felt her face go warm. She probably matched Neville's shade of pink. "I would like that."

The two walked again in silence for a while, until they reached a spot where they had to wait for the stairs to change.

"What are you doing for Christmas this holiday?" asked Luna.

"Visiting my parents, spending time at home, ignoring school work," Neville laughed, "You know, the usual. How about you?"

"Spending time with my dad. It will be nice to get away from the drama of You-Know-Who and just be with family."

Neville nodded, and the two walked up the final staircase. Luna glanced at Neville, who was looking up.

Mistletoe.

"It's probably full of nargles," said Luna.

"Yeah…" said Neville.

Before she knew it, Neville was leaning in to kiss her. It was unlike anything she'd expected – a kiss was on her Christmas wish list, and she didn't even know it.

It was over too soon, and Neville gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later?" he asked her with a sweet little smile on his face.

"I hope so. I would like that," said Luna, smiling the same.

"Happy Christmas, Luna."

The fifth Happy Christmas, Luna thought, is easily the best.

_A/N2: …Please excuse the horrid attempt at Hagrid's accent._

_And fluff! I love fluff! I hope you enjoyed reading this, because I loved writing it._

_Thank you for reading, and if you like it, let me know!_


End file.
